Yesterday I had to go to Birmingham for a mid morning meeting and decided to leave the car at home and ‘risk’ using public transport. I needn’t have worried - it was superb!

Using my bus pass (one of the perks of reaching a certain age!) I caught a 101 service bus which arrived in Granville Square right on the dot of the timetabled time. After a smooth journey to Stafford, I got off outside the railway station and bought my ticket (£7.90 return!) and walked through onto Platform One. I asked the Virgin attendant when the next train to Birmingham was due to be told that it was just arriving! A clean, quiet and smooth new Cross Country unit pulled up, I hopped on and immediately found a seat. After the one stop at Wolverhampton I was soon gettin off in Birmingham with an hour to kill!

And the return journey was just as good! The train for Stafford was pulling up as I reached the platform at New Street and it then proceeded to Stafford non stop! As I was walking out of the station I saw the 101 coming over the bridge by Victoria Park. A short trot and I was at the bus stop as it pulled up!

So next time I have to make the same journey I’ll be using the buses and trains again. But what a pity the train service we’ll be getting in the autumn from Stone station won’t be a direct service to Birmingham

As a member of Stafford Borough Council’s Environment Scrutiny Committee, I heard an update on the new recycling and refuse collection  arrangements at last night’s meeting in Stafford. We were given a presentation showing the results of the first two week’s operation and very impressive it was too! Recyclables are up 66% and garden waste and cardboard up over 50%. And if these figures are maintained Stafford Borough will jump up the ‘league tables’ for recycling from fairly near the bottom up to among the top three authorities in Staffordshire. Of course there have been teething problems (including an unanswered complaint from me a fortnight ago!) but it looks as if most issues have been sorted. I was pleased to hear that all the new vehicles had been delivered and that the difficulties around Stonefield Park were being resolved.

And I am fairly confident we may be able to persuade an officer from the Borough - and perhaps one from the County - to come to Stone and give a presentation at a public meeting. I explained to the committee that I had been asked by several people what happened to all the different recycled materials after they had been collected and that I felt there were many who were genuinely interested in recycling and would be interested in learning more. The reaction was positive so I intend to follow up the idea. Watch this space!

Following the two Town Council committee meetings on Tuesday night, it was back for two more on Wednesday! We kicked off with the Tourism and Town Promotion sub-committee chaired by Jill Hood. A very full agenda included the co-option of three new members; receiving a presentation from our contractor regarding our Christmas Lights display; an update on the plans for the Cycle Race, Music Festival, Literary Festival and discussions about Welcome to Stone signage and plaques on historic buildings.

And when that was all over, it was straight into an Estates sub-committee meeting! We discussed the town market stalls, Stone Station, the Frank Jordan Centre, the Scout Hut on Westbridge Park, our car parks in Northesk Street and at Crown Wharf plus the public toilets in Station Road and on the Crown Street car park. All of our recommendations and proposals will go before the General Purposes Committee in a couple of weeks following which we should be able to make some positive announcements!

It’s been a quiet few weeks at Stone Town Council and we are now playing ‘catch up’! Last night I attended two sub committee meetings and shall be doing the same again tonight.

Our first meeting was the Environment committee chaired by Mark Hatton. We spent a lot of time discussing Crown Meadow. Last year we put in a wheel chair accessible footbridge over Scotch Brook, improved the footpaths around the river path and created the amphitheatre. We are anxious to continue the project and Mark was pleased to announce the completion this week of the resurfacing of the path across the meadow. This will provide a very pleasant direct walk across the meadow into town from Walton.

In addition we approved plans to create three wetland ’scrapes’ and the planting of native wildflowers, including fratillaries, in the Spring. Whilst it will take a few years to become established, I am in no doubt that Crown Meadow will soon become a real haven for wildlife. It’s very exciting.

Other items on the agenda incuded a reprint of the Doorstep Walks leaflets, dealing with a request to consider the felling of a sycamore tree on one of our allotments and agreeing to meet a local developer who has exppressed an interest in providing a piece of public art.

The second meeting was much shorter - thank goodness! The Management sub committee chaired by Lin Davies, dealt with three grant applications and then discussed International Relations i.e. twinning issues. Sadly there is a tormented history of issues relating to the Friendship Agreement that Stone signed with the Italian town of Bagnacavallo a few years ago. The work of a very committed and hardworking twinning committee has been sidelined by various personality conflicts between certain persons who have, at one time or other, been town councillors and members of the committee. It has now reached a point where I try to ensure that the Twinning Committee is left to deal with twinning issues (and I will give them my fullest support) and the Town Council simply attends to its civic responsibilities and courtesies. I hope that we can proceed on this basis but I fear there are too many bruised egos around ! And tonight one councillor very properly declared a personal interest. I am convinced there are at least another three who should do the same whenever twinning is discussed.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/09749/FUL          Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 15 February2008                 Applicant: M Dooley

Location:  Land at Church Street, Stone

Proposal: Erection of 6 No. Residential apartments in 2-3 storey building

Case Officer: Mrs K Wilson

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Application Number: 08/09800/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 18 February 2008                 Applicant: Miss Levingstone

Location:  16 Kings Avenue, Stone

Proposal: Proposed sitting room extension.

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

I never cease to be amazed by the community spirit in this town! Yesterday morning about forty folk turned up at ten o’clock in the the Market Square to go around the town to pick up litter! Young people from the Reel’em In fishing group, more lads from the Right Stuff boxing project, founder memebers of the Den, members of Stone Lions and Stone Ramblers, Town Councillors, PC Andy Whitehall with his sergeant and PCSO’s and several members of the public - all eager to tidy up the town.

And a couple of hours later a mountain of full bags began to rise in Market Square! Squads of litter pickers had ‘attacked’ the church yard and Church Street; Stafford Street and the banks of Scotch Brook; the footpaths at the back of Bromfield Court and surrounding shrub beds; paths around Morrisons car park; Crown Meadow; and nooks and crannies all over town.

And the end result was over 150 bags of litter taken away in the Streetscene lorry! What a fantastic event. The young folk really enjoyed themselves and everyone who took part wants to do it again! I’m sure Andy Whitehall will be up for it! Congratulations to Andy for all the organisation and a big Thank You to Martyn Corfield of the Good Food Chain who has agreed to pay £1 per bag to the Right Stuff and to The Den, Stone’s new youth cafe. And a really big Thanks to everyone who took part.

Ian Thompson was appointed Chief Executive of Stafford Borough Council at last night’s Borough Council meeting after a heated and controversial debate. On a named vote his appointment was approved solely on the votes of the ruling Tory group whilst every Labour, Liberal Democrat and Independent councillor voted against the appointment.

In the course of the debate, an amendment proposed by Barry Stamp, leader of the Liberal Democrat group and seconded by me, to reinstate the Selection Procedure, abandoned a couple of weeks ago, was defeated by the Tory group. A vote of no confidence in the Cabinet Leader, Cllr. Judith Dalgarno, was also defeated. However, the Tories will be under no illusions after this debate. The opposition parties are united in their condemnation of the manner of this appointment.

I, personally,  am appalled at the manner of this appointment and by the arrogance of the Tory cabinet and its leader. That a democratic selection procedure should be halted in its tracks and an in-house appointment be proposed without reference to Appointments Panel or the Group Leaders is a staggering abuse of the ruling party’s majority.

Stafford Borough Council will now be led by a Chief Executive whose selection was determined by the Tory group primarily on the cost savings involved. We shall never know what talent existed in the short listed candidates we never interviewed so we will never know whether the new Chief Executive was the best man for the job. I fear this selection has done Stafford Borough Councils reputation considerable harm and I worry that Mr Thompson’s tenure  has been made all the more difficult by the fiasco of his appointment.

You may remember that at the moment I am on a sponsored diet to raise funds for PC Andy Whitehall’s boxing project for the young folk - The Right Stuff. It is my ambition to raise at least £250 by losing two stones in weight before the first of April. And I’m well on target. I’ve raised over £200 now and have lost 1 stone 3 lbs - so I’ve about five weeks to get rid of the last eleven pounds!

But this week has been a bit of a struggle! On Wednesday evening I was the guest speaker at a meeting of Stone Inner Wheel Club at the Stone House Hotel. I had been asked to speak about the Food and Drink Festival and invited to eat dinner with them beforehand! Thank goodness I was on a ‘red’ day! A good portion of very tender chicken and some well cooked fresh vegetables enabled me to stick more or less to my regime - but perhaps the delicious, rather thick and creamy soup beforehand is best not mentioned!

And then yesterday Janet and I were guests at the Annual Luncheon of the Midland’s branch of the Showmans Guild in Wolverhampton. What a do! Almost every Mayor and Local Authority Chairman in the Midlands was there - I’ve never seen so many chains in one room! We were guests of a good friend of Stone, Fred Warwick , who has been bringing his fair to Stone for forty years. What hospitality! I deliberately chose to be on another ‘red’ day and it was a shrewd move. Roast beef aplenty and a few vegetables  ensured that I didn’t offend my host!

However the scales this morning are static! A hard few days ahead!

Compared to many, last night’s Town Council meeting was a rather quiet affair. There was very little on the agenda of a contentious nature so the usual party political posturing from Tory members was almost non existant. One member tried to lecture the council about the law on Member’s Interests but got it all wrong! He’d overlooked the fact that we adopted the new Code of Conduct issued by the Standards Board last year!

And the General Purposes Committee agenda was the shortest on record. We have held no sub committee meetings since our last meeting so there were no minutes for approval. Our County Councillor, John Wakefield, attended and answered several questions arising from Paula Furnival’s presentation about the closure of Roseneath. However in view of the fact that we had already resolved to invite the County Council to send a representative to talk to us about Respite and Day Care provision in the town, John only had to field a few general questions.

However he did refer to the effect of the Borough Council’s refuse collection scheme upon the County Council’s Household Waste Recycling Centre on Stone Business Park. Apparently the Borough’s blue bin has been so successful in the first two weeks that there has been a substantial reduction in the use of the County’s recycling centre. I do hope that the Recycling Centre  doesn’t turn out to be a very expensive white elephant. It’s easy to say it after the event but was there any ‘joined up thinking’ between County and Borough in their separate plans for waste disposal? Is this an argument for only one authority dealing with this service?

Hidden away in a previous posting, I mentioned that PC Andy Whitehall was arranging a Community Litter Pick involving the young people who are involved in his Reel ‘Em In fishing and The Right Stuff boxing projects.

The litter pick starts at 10.00 am this Saturday in the Market Square and everyone is welcome to take part. Martyn Corfield of the Good Food Chain has agreed to sponsor the event by paying £1 for every full bag of litter and he will also be providing sandwiches for those taking part.

I’ve spoken to several members of the public who are going to turn up so I’ve a feeling it’s going to be a great event. Come along and help to keep our town tidy.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/09730/ADV              Type of Application: Application to display Adverts

Date registered: 12 February2008                 Applicant: Sukhi Kaur

Location:  Subway, 2 Mill Street, Stone

Proposal: Signage

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

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Application Number: 08/09724/ADV               Type of Application: Application to display Adverts

Date registered: 12 February 2008                 Applicant: Mr Ross McCourt

Location:  Filleybrooks Service Station, Stone

Proposal: Erection of 1 no internally illuminated, double sided, free standing advertisement display unit on forecourt.

Case Officer: Mrs K Wilson

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Application Number: 08/09776/FUL              Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 13 February2008                 Applicant: J White

Location:  40 Coppice Gardens, Stone

Proposal: Two storey side extension providing garage with bedroom over. Bay window and porch extension to front, single storey rear extension  providing utility and conservatory.

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

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Application Number: 08/09786/FUL             Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 14 February2008                 Applicant: Mr and Mrs T Bunn

Location:  7 Mount Crescent, Stone

Proposal: Single storey extension to rear and side of existing dwelling for replacement garage and kitchen extension together with new vehicular access from Mount Crescent

Case Officer: Mrs K Wilson

A few weeks ago I asked for the Borough Council to instal the height restriction barrier at Christchurch Way car park. I had received a couple of complaints about a lorry and a campervan parking overnight. Today I noticed that the barrier has now been installed so hopefully the overnight sleeping problem has been solved. A result!

And whilst I was in town it seemed to me that traffic was moving much better passed the roadworks at the bottom of Christchurch Way. It seems to me that the green phase has been lengthened as I requested the other day. Another result!

I love happy endings!

I’ve just received an email from the Borough Council reporting on the progress of the introduction of the new blue bins. Yesterday the scheme had been in operation for nine days and already there has been an increase of 105% in dry recyclables in the blue bins and a 60% increase in the collection of garden waste. Quite impressive!

And they also point out that until Biffa take delivery of their new fleet of vehicles, paper and recyclables are being collected together. However they are separated at the depot.

Whilst this is positive news, I am receiving comments that suggest that there are many people who still are not too happy with the change. A lot of people seem to object to rinsing out tins, bottles, jars and plastic containers. I really don’t understand this. We’ve always done it - it is so easy and prevents any possible danger of smells. As far as I’m concerned, the new scheme is a great success. If you don’t agree, get in touch and let me have your comments.

Stone town centre has been suffering from major traffic gridlock this week due to contractors working for Severn Trent digging a large hole on the pavement at the bottom of Christchurch Way. Two lanes of traffic  are being merged into one and the back up of traffic has blocked the entire one way system at times and caused queues back onto the A34 and out of town on the Longton Road.

On Tuesday evening Cllr. Joyce Farnham took 40 minutes to drive from her home in Airdale Road to collect a fellow councillor on the Cherryfields estate and then to the Council Chamber - a ten minute journey at worst in normal times. And I’m told that tempers became so frayed on Morrisons’ car park where cars could not get out that the police were called to calm things down. And town centre businesses who depend on delivering to customers - florists and chemists- have been severly affected.

So yesterday I spent ages on the phone trying to find out the facts. Eventually a very helpful lady at Severn Trent called me back to tell me some very bad news. What was originally thought to be a simple three day repair has turned out to be much more serious. The sewer has collapsed and the contractors anticipate the repair lasting “until at least the 29th of this month”.  I pointed out that the repair was on the pavement and surely there was no need to close a lane. Not so - Health and Safety regulations require the lane closure and the hole will have to be extended in any event. More workmen? The contractor is obliged to carry out the work as soon as possible but there is a limit to how many workmen can work in the excavation, I was told.

This is very worrying. Next week the schools go back after the half term break and I dread to think what the problems will be like during the school run times.

My only thought was that because the lane closure was resulting in only half the normal volume of traffic going through the traffic lights on green, could the lights timing be extended? So I’ve spoken to the Highways Dept who are looking into the suggestion. Maybe it might help.

In the meantime, be warned! Stone is going to have traffic jams for at least a fortnight. 

Ever since the first announcement was made a couple of years ago regarding the possible closure of Roseneath, Stone Town Council has been trying to arrange a meeting with the County Council. All councillors were alarmed at the plans to rehouse elderly residents and wanted the opportunity to try and influence the decision. Sadly the County Council has avoided having a meeting with us - until last night. But better late than never.

Of course, the decision to close Roseneath has now been implemented and there is nothing anybody can do about it now. So last night’s presentation by Paula Furnival, District Director from the Directorate of Social Care and Health, was always going to be an explanation of the progress to date and their plans for the future care of the elderly. Paula gave a very full and frank summary of the present situation. She explained that there were 19 residents still living in Roseneath and that it was hoped that by the summer all will have been rehoused to their satisfaction.

There then followed a lengthy and detailed question and answer session. The overwhelming view from the floor was that there was no councillor who had any confidence in the care and support services which are in place for looking after our elderly who are living independently and that unless considerably more resources were put into these services the elderly were going to be very poorly cared for.

Several councillors related their own ‘horror’ stories of experiences with elderly relatives. Whilst Paula put forward some very plausible reassurances, I fear most of us still went home with serious doubts that support and care of the elderly has taken second place to the imperative to save money. We shall see.

I was fortunate to be around this evening when Kate Moss, one of my Independent councillor colleagues, was talking to a very pleasant, white haired gentleman named Mick Gilligan. She had arranged to meet him to pick his brains for the Stone Music Festival. Mick started the Stone Jazz Club many years ago and is still in charge of booking the bands for the weekly club meetings at Langtry’s.

Kate is anxious to make sure that the Festival covers all types of music so tonight Mick gave her all his contact details. He sure knows his stuff! He’s played with many top bands including Humphrey Littleton’s and Terry Lightfoot’s. His knowledge of the local jazz scene is immense and I’m sure that with his help Stone will be echoing to the sound of several fantastic bands between the 10th  and the 12th of July.

And then within half an hour of getting home I heard a piece on Radio 4 News that the company operatiing the Jazz station on DAB digital radio was pulling out because the ‘DAB platform was not economically viable.’ What a great shame. I often tuned in and enjoyed the station  particularly Digby Fairweather’s programme. Digby’s band used to back the late George Melly and has performed several times at Granvilles.

Well, at least, jazz is alive and kicking in Stone! Monday nights in Langtry’s any time after 8.30 pm. If you like live jazz, this is the place to be! And look out for the Music Festival in July.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 08/09654/ful               Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 4 February2008                 Applicant: Mrs P Roberts

Location:  2 Rolt Close, Stone

Proposal: Single storey extension

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

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Application Number: 08/09690/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 5 February 2008                 Applicant: Mr Terry Cornes

Location:  14 Rangeley View, Stone

Proposal: Single storey kitchen and conservatory.

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

Reading the front page of last week’s Newsletter, I was taken aback by the headline “£14,000 spent on Whitebridge marina survey”. Oh no, I thought, just like London buses, you haven’t got a single marina one moment and then the prospect of three being built takes place within weeks! Planning permission has already been granted for one south of town at Aston and there have benn hints and rumours that the Borough Council are about to announce plans for another in Westbridge Park. Surely there’s no demand for a third at Whitebridge, north of the town? But no, all’s well. The Newsletter was confusing Whitebridge with Westbridge and the story itself was all about the Borough Council paying consultants to see whether a marina in Westbridge Park is a practical proposal.

Apparently the results were positive and the Environment Agency has approved the report subject to ‘flood defence work’ being carried out on the canal. This is good news. There have been so many rumours about what is going on behind the scenes about future developments on Westbridge Park that it is reassuring to actually hear some hard facts. We all know that there have been several surveys over the last couple of years (the latest only a couple of weeks ago) at a cost, on my calculation, of over £50,000. It’s time we we were told what’s going on!

For some reason, the issue of litter in the town seems to have been raised in numerous conversations and situations over the last few weeks. Litter has always been near the top of the list of complaints but the current debate seems to have started a couple of weeks ago when the Stone Post, one of the freebie weeklies, carried a front page story with two large photographs showing two areas of litter. Interestingly, in one of the photos there was clearly visible a large bundle of what appeared to be free newspapers that had thrown away, presumably, by a delivery person!

The thrust of the story was that ‘the council’ had failed to clear up the litter and a couple of residents were quoted and gave the totally false impression that Stone was knee deep in litter. I am in no doubt that both photos showed litter on private property and, for that reason, are not part of our town’s street cleaner’s duties. I do accept however that the land owners have a responsibility and I have received numerous complaints that our major supermarket could do more to keep it’s premises more litter free. I agree.

I was quoted in the story as saying that the street cleaning machine had been off the road for repairs but was expected back within days. Indeed, by the time the Post hit the door mats, the machine was back in action! But, imagine my despair when a couple of days ago a recovery vehicle entered the High Street and winched the machine on board. Yes, it’s broken down again. This piece of equipment seems to have spent more time off the road for repairs than it has in use. It’s high time we had a more reliable machine so that our street cleaner could do the job he’s employed to do. It is unrealistic to expect him to keep the town clean on foot with a hand held litter picker.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Yesterday Jan and I took Jan’s daughter for a good walk over the back of Redhill to Cotwalton and back home. We started by walking along Nanny Goat Lane and I am delighted to report that there was not one piece of litter along it’s whole length from Longton Road to The Avenue. Not even a cigarette end! Now I know that this is due entirely to at least one volunteer litter picker (and maybe more) and what a fantastic job he is doing! And I am aware of anther volunteer who keeps Granville Terrace neat and tidy. I do my bit in Oulton Road between Princes Street and the school and the Lions regularly litter pick the canal towpath and the amphitheatre. Are there other litter pickers out there who regularly keep their neighbourhood tidy?

However within a few hundred yards of leaving Nanny Goat Lane, we encountered the bad news. The litter along the path between Mill Street and Church Lane is awful. Perhaps this week I might have a word with the manager of Morrisons to see who owns the land in question. It’s an eyesore and needs to be dealt with.

Which is a timely reminder that PC Andy Whitehall is organising a community litter pick on Saturday 23rd February starting in Market Square at 10.00 a.m. Andy is bringing along a group of young people who want to join his boxing training club, The Right Stuff, and, true to his word, he is insisting that these lads take part in community activities in return for free boxing tuition. Members of the public are also welcome to attend and a good turn out of town councillors is expected. And I am delighted that The Good Food Chain from Walton Business Park have offered Andy sponsorship and free rereshments for those who take part.

It’s good to raise the profile of the litter issue. It is, of course,  a national issue and Stone does not have a major problem. But we must keep tackling the issue. And involving the younger generation is an important part of the package - instilling a sense of civic pride is essential if we are to educate people not to drop the litter in the first place.

Do you remember my sponsored slimming camapign? Well, three weeks down the line and I’m half way there - I’ve lost exactly one stone! The first weeks were relatively easy but I’ve now reached the stage where my stomach rumbles after a meal - not just before! So I expect the last stone to be much harder work.

And the sponsorship is well on target. I am very confident indeed that I shall be able to hand over a sum well in excess of the £250 to Andy Whitehall.

This week the Youth Cafe has received the promise of a massive boost to its plans to turn part of the Frank Jordan Centre into its permanent home. Stone Market Town Initiative approved a grant of up to £19000. But this is not a cash gift. It is dependent upon the Youth Cafe raising a similar amount and in the fastest possible time. The SMTI scheme ends at the end of March and unless the Cafe can raise their part of the cash before then the grant will lapse. So there is some very urgent fund raising to be done in the next few weeks to take advantage of this grant.

I am desperate to support the Youth Cafe. It will fulfil an urgent need in the town and from the response of the young folk it will be heavily used. We must do everything within our power to support this venture. It would be a tragedy to miss out on SMTI funding at the stage. So in the next few days I am going to be talking to various people and organisations to see what can be done to achieve this target.

If anyone reading this has any ideas or offers of help please feel free to contact me.

Perhaps the meeting on the towpath today will be the last! I had hoped that today we would achieve a consensus as to where the ‘artwork’ (see my previous posts) would be positioned and what form it would take. Sadly, there were as many different opinions as persons present so I’m not sure how this will all turn out!

Perhaps I’m a cynic but I got the distinct impression that this belated consultation exercise is actually a bit of flannel. We discovered that the three ’selected’ schools had already had their workshop and had already produced over a hundred tiles to be used in the artwork. Whilst funding had now been obtained to arrange a further workshop for the schools previously left out, the artist let it be known that he already had enough tiles to do the job!

And as to the shape of the artwork itself, the artist appeared to be adamant that he was going to create a seat - despite the fact that the only point most people present were agreed upon was that we definately did not want a seat.

Oh well, perhaps I’m just in a grumpy mood today!

Last night the final meeting of the Stone Market Town Initiative was held in the Town Council chamber. Tim Scott, the Programme Coordinator, gave a PowerPoint presentation overview of the scheme. The SMTI was formed in 2003, with a lifetime of five years,  on the basis of a £500,000 fund being made available by Advantage West Midlands to regenerate the market town of Stone and the surrounding areas. Any funding from SMTI had to be matched by at least the same amount from the applicant scheme. I was appointed to the Board as the Town Council’s representative and attended my first Board meeting in December 2005, by which time the various projects were already in place.

Tim’s presentation explained the various projects over the last five years. The canal improvement scheme currently underway, Stone Dominoes Football Club’s ground improvements, a Rural Chest shared between a couple of dozen groups and organisations, Town Centre marquees, a Town Centre coordinator, shop front improvements and retail marketing workshops are all beneficiaries of the Initiative. Final figures will not be available until the scheme formally come to end on March 31st.

Like most projects of this size, hindsight dictates that, given the chance again, the scheme would be handled rather differently. And despite the fact that there will be some permanent legacies, there will, inevitably, be criticism when the final figures are published. On balance however I believe that, in years to come, it will be possible to say that the SMTI achieved real results and propagated other schemes and projects, yet to come to fruition, which will benefit the town.

The following applications relate to properties within Stonefield and Christchurch ward. For further details contact the Planning Officer at Stafford Borough Council, 3rd Floor, Civic Centre, Riverside, Stafford ST16 3AQ or telephone 01785 619337 quoting the application number.

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Application Number: 07/09466/COU                Type of Application: Change of Use

Date registered: 30 January 2008                 Applicant: Peter Plant

Location:  17 Lichfield Street, Stone

Proposal: Change of Use from residential to office and ancillary accommodation (retrospective)

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

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Application Number: 08/09591/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 25 January 2008                 Applicant: Mr and Mrs Daddyman

Location:  20 Kings Avenue, Stone

Proposal: Domestic extension to rear of house.

Case Officer: Ms T Brown

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Application Number: 08/09658/FUL                Type of Application: Full

Date registered: 31 January 2008                 Applicant: Robert Appleton

Location:  The Mill Hotel, Mill Street, Stone

Proposal:Conversion and improvement of existing hotel building..

Case Officer: Ms S Brown

The record still stands! We’ve never yet had a wet Farmers’ Market since we started in October 2005. And although it was very grey, cold and dim when I arrived in town at 7.30 a.m. this morning, the day just got better and better. At midday the sky was a clear blue and the sun was quite warm.

By mid afternoon, most of the stall holders had sold out and were packing up - all with smiles on their faces! They love Stone’s market - as do the visitors. It’s wonderful to see the High Street so full. We are obviously doing something right!

So as soon as the last of the shoppers had gone home, it was out to collect the No Waiting cones, bring in the A boards and replace the Mill Street bollards. Then a trip around the town to remove the ‘This Sat’ flashes off the wooden signs on the roads into town. And then home to a deep hot bath to thaw out!

Two meetings this week have progressed the planning for the Cycle Race considerably. On Thursday the working group met in the Town Council chamber and made real progress. Firstly, we settled on a name for the race -The Circuits de Stone. A bit Tour de France’ish and descriptive - the race will comprise numerous circuits of a short route around the town centre. We also discussed detailed planning for sponsorship, marshalling, publicity and, most importantly, the various street parties which will be taking place around the route!

And then last night it was down to Stafford to attend the British Cycling Federation’s regional meeting when all the official business in connection with the race was attended to.

So put the date in your diary now - the evening of Wednesday 18th June - don’t miss it. Stone will have seen nothing like it before!

I’ve just taken a look at the hit counter and had a surprise! In January this site received 1849 hits! This is almost twice the number from when the site went live in November. Thanks and best wishes to everyone who comes to the site.

Don’t forget that you can comment on any of my postings. Just click on ‘comment ?’ under the heading.

A couple of days ago I wrote about a rather disappointing meeting organised by Groundworks, the company carrying out the canal improvement scheme on behalf of Stone Market Town Initiative and British Waterways. Well, it is obvious that my views were shared by several others because yesterday I was asked to attend another meeting - and what a difference!

Instead of just three schools being involved, Groundwork are now hopeful that an invitation can be sent to all Stone schools and many other local groups and organisations in the hope that they too might wish to take part in the scheme. This is a major breakthrough and answers many of the criticisms raised at the first meeting.

We also discussed the location of the piece of artwork and a proposal of a different location was received with interest. Obviously, others need to be consulted but I came away feeling a lot more optimistic. We have another meeting arranged for next week when hopefully firm decisions will finally be made.